Package



Patented Apr. 21, 1953 PACKAGE James E. Snyder, Akron, and Drury It. Burton,

Uniontown, Ohio, assgnors to Wingfoot Corporation, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application neceber 13, 194e, serial No. 132,161

l This invention relates to a pouch for packaging peanut butter, and the like. The pouch is designed so that its contents may be removed in increments, from time to time, as used. It is formed from flexible, heat-scalable packaging lm which is substantially impervious to the ingredients of the packaged substance. A stiftener is provided at the mouth of the bag to form a temporary closure to close the mouth of the pouch after'each removal of a portion of its contents. 'To make this closure effective the mouth of the pouch is made narrow, no more than two and one-half inches wide, and preferably no more than two inches wide. The pouch is therefore ordinarily constructed with a mouth which is narrower than its body portion.`

The film used for forming the pouch may be composed of rubber hydrochloride, copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride, polyethylene, etc., or of metal foil laminated with such a lm or coated with a heatfsealable plastic. The shape of the pouch is preferably flask-like, its neck and mouth being the narrowest portion. The pouch is manufactured with the mouth sealed and its bottom edge unsealed. It is filled through its bottom, and then the bottom edge is sealed. To remove the contents ofthe pouch the seal at the mouth is cut or torn away and the substance is squeezed out of the package through the narrow'neck and 'mouth in ribbon Along onesideyof theneck lof the pouchwa resilient stiie'ner, such asa stripof chip board or the like is vprovided-which tends tore'xtend the two ends of the mouth and bring its sides together.` The stiffener is flexible so that when pressure is applied to the substance in the'package the sides of the neck and mouth spread and the-substance is extruded. But after each such operation, when the neck'is freed of the substance, the stilener brings the sides o'f the neck and-lmouth together again to close the package. In a pouch of a preferred design, a piece of chip board'at least as wide as the mouth of the pouch is fastened to one side of the pouch below its mouth by a strip of ductile metal which is fastened to the pouch through the chip board. The chip board is adapted to be folded through 360, so that it may be folded back overthe metal strip when the package is in use, and may be brought down over the mouth of the pouch when it is not in use. Small metal tabs at the ends of the metal strip extend beyond the edges of the chip board and can be folded over it to hold it in place in either position. In another 2 Claims. (Cl. 222-197) Y 2 1 preferred pouch, in addition to the flexible stiffener, a hood of chip board or the like is provided 1 which is slipped over the mouth of the pouch when not in use and cooperates with the stiffener in keeping it closed.

The invention will be further described in connection with the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of a preferred pouch showing in dotted lines the seal across the neck partially torn away;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view through the neck of the pouch of Fig. 1 along the line 21--2;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the seal torn away and the closure being folded overthe mouth; l'

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the pouch closed with the closure device;

Fig. 5 is a view of the same side of the pouch shown in Fig. 1, taken from the right side of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side viewv of another preferred pouch;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view through the neck of this pouch taken on the line 1 1 offFig. 6; 1

Fig. 8 is another enlarged cross-sectional view through the neck of the vpouch of Fig. 7 after the seal has been torn away, showing the closure hood in position; and Fig. 9-is a view in elevation showing the con-V tents of the pouch being squeezed therefrom.

rIhe pouch I of Fig. 1 is made of heat-scalable film, for instance, rubber hydrochloride film. The pouch may be shaped by folding a nat sheet of the lm together, and thenheat-sealing its side edges together` to form the seam 2. Heatsealf 3 extendsv across the top ci the pouch and closes it. A hot perforating instrument is run across the top'of the pouch just below this seal to form a line of perforaticns 4 each of which is sealed around its edges. These facilitate opening the pouch and at the same time keep it airand. moisture-tight. To open the package the seal 3 is torn from the package along this line of perforations (as indicated by the dotted lines at the upper right-hand corner of Fig. 1). The seals joining the edges of the perforations in opposite walls of the package are easily broken.

To give the package a iiask-like shape the two sides of the pouch are narrowed bythe two seals 5. Thesefseals eachl angle Vinwardly from *theV sides of the pouch toward the top and 'then they extend parallel to one another, enclosing between them an area 6- which is the neck ofthe pouch. Alternatively these seals might angle inwardly right up to the mouth. The bottom seam I is not formed until after the substance to be packaged has been introduced into the pouch.

The closure for this pouch is a piece of chip board which, in cross section, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, is the shape of an inverted U. One portion 8 of the chip board is fastened across one side of the neck of the pouch just below the perforations 4, as shown in Fig. 2. The other portion 9 extends upwardly from the portion 8; and' both before the package has ever been opened. and whenever it is in use, this portion is folded down along the side of portion 8. lit is held in this position by the metal tabs iii which are the ends of a flexible metal strip fastened to the portion B of the chip board. -.Staples orally other suitable means may hold the metal "strip to the chip board which is glued to one wall ofthe .neck

of the pouch. After seal 3 has been torn awa-y, the 'pouch may be closed at any time byfclding the portion 9 of the Vchip board overth'e mouth' ofthe pouch from the. position shown. in. Fig. 2, through the position shown inrFig. 3, to the posi.- tion shown in Figs. 4 and 45. The metal tabs- Iii are then bent around and ush against' each'side of the portion 9 of thechp board (as shown in Figs. 4 and 5) to hold the mouth of the pouch closed.- A

Fig. 9 illustrates the manner in which the substance I I in the pouch is removed. For example, if the substance in the pouch is peanut butter, it is forced out through the neck simply-'by applying pressure to the walls of the pouch. The chip board andthe metal strip servev as a stifienerwhich tends to hold the walls of the `neck flat. This stiiener is bowed as the peanut butter is forced through the neck and the peanut 'butter is exuded in a smooth ribbon onto bread I2 or the like. l

When the pouch is new, the chip board closure is folded back over the metal strip as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The pouch is opened by tearing away its top along the perforations 4. The peanut butter or whatever substance is in the pouch is then squeezed out through the mouth. After thus removing a part of the substance from the pouch, any of the substance remaining in the neck is removed in any suitable manner. The tabs I Il are bent out .to release the portion 9 of the chip board, and this is then folded over the mouth of the pouch and secured by foldingv the tabslii flat against it, as in Fig. 4. The chip boardand metal strip keep the ends of the mouth extended and the opposite Walls in at contactwith one another across the mouth of the package, seallng-it suiiiciently to exclude dirt and prevent excessive moisture or other liquid in the package from evaporating. This Ykeeps the substance in the package in a relatively fresh condition. When more of the substance is to be removed, the tabs I0 are bent out and the chip board flap 9 is raised, or folded back and held in the open position bythe tabs I0. After use the flap is folded back into place over the mouth of the pouch and the tabs are again pressed against it as shown in Fig. 4. Thus the contents of the pouch may be used in smaller or larger increments, and the package is'sealed when not in use.

.A `modified form Yof the pouch is shown in Fig. 6. This pouch I3 is also made of heat-sealable film, preferably rubber hydrochloride. It is formed from two sheets of film which are generally triangular in shape and are heat-sealed together along their tapering sides Iii. The neck 'side of the neck just under the perforations I'I.

To open this package, the top of the pouch is I torn away along the perforations Il. To remove its contents the pouch is manipulated in the same manner as pouch I.

A preferred closure for this pouch is a hood 2i which is simply two pieces of chip board 22 joined along the top and sides. over the mouth of the pouch and the stiffener This hood is slipped I9 when new, as shown in Fig. 6. To use the new package the hood is removed and the seal i6 is torn away along theperforations Il. After use, anyL unused substance is removed from'the neck and the walls of the mouth are brought into hat contact. The hood is .then placed over the mouth to aid in keeping it closed and keeping out dirt, etc; The hood 2i is not attached to the pouch. YIt is merely slippedon and 01T, over the mouth and neck.

The pouch is inexpensive and is disposable after the contents have been removed. A number of substances, lboth edible and non-edible, may be packaged in thisV pouch. Besides peanut butter, it may be used for edibles such as marshmallow whip, catsup, mustard, sundae sirup, salad dressing, vegetable shortening, jam, etc. It is also convenient for packaging non-edible substances such as cosmetic cream, toothpaste, putty, grease, etc.

The Vinvention is not limited to the shape of the package disclosed. It is not necessary that the pouch be triangular or the upper body portion taper toward the neck. However, it is generally desirable to make the neck and mouth of the pouch relatively small so as to minimize the size of the closure required. The remainder ofthe package will ordinarily be wider thanv the neck toincrease thevolume it will hold per unit of length. The sealed perforations 4` under the heat-seal 3 are a particularly desirable feature in a pouch made of plastic film which resists tearing.- The use ofperforations to facilitate the opening of the package -is desirable if the package is made of rubber hydrochloride film or other lm that is diflicult to tear. The perforations may be omitted. If the lm is not easily titrn, shears or the like may be used in opening 1 Modifications in the package will be apparent to the person skilledin the art.

What we claim is:

1. An elongated fiat pouch for packaging peanut butter and the like, formed of heat-sealable, flexible packaging film which resists tearing, the pouch having at one of its shorter ends a neck and mouth portion narrower than the body portion and no more than two and one-half inches wide, the pouch being sealed above the neck and mouth, below this seal an areawhich is unsealed except fora line of perforations-extending from one edge of the mouth to the other, the edges of which in opposite Vwalls of the pouch are Vsealed together, fastened to the outer surface of one wall of the neck of the pouch a piece of chip board at least as wide as the mouth which when so fastened is foldable in one direction over the mouth of the pouch and is foldable in the other direction against the outside of the pouch, and fastened against the portion of chip hoard fastened to the wall of the neck a thin, flexible strip of ductile metal which is longer than the chip board and extends beyond the ends of the chip board, the ends of the metal strip forming tabs foldable in both directions to hold the foldable portion of the cardboard in each of the aforesaid positions.

2. An elongated flat pouch for packaging peanut butter and the like, formed of heat-sealable, flexible packaging lm which resists tearing, the pouch having at one of its shorter ends a neck and mouth portion no more than two and onehalf inches wide, the pouch being sealed above the neck and mouth, below this seal an area which is unsealed except for a straight line of perforations extending from one edge of the mouth to the other, the edges of which in opposite Walls of the pouch are sealed together, and resilient etiiTening means across one side of the mouth with its upper edge just below the line of perforations, Which stiffening means tend to hold the ends of the mouth extended and its opposite walls in contact when the neck and mouth are empty.

JAMES E. SNYDER.

DRURY R. BURTON.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,317,687 Cooper Oct. 17, 1919 2,017,704 Rose Oct. 15, 1935 2,093,976 Farmer Sept. 21, 1937 2,162,285 Scott June 13, 1939 2,178,044 Vesconte Oct. 31 1939 2,233,704 Hohl Mar. 4,. 1941 2,234,065 Vogt Mar. 4, 1941 2,297,375 Vogt Sept. 29, 1942 2,325,921 Salsberg Aug. 3, 1943 2,333,587 Sals'berg Nov. 2, 1943 2,415,139 Kohl Feb. 4, 1947 2,432,968 Lahey Dec. 16,4 1947 2,480,500 Moore Aug. 30,. 1949 2,499,528 Reitzes Mar. 7, 1950 

